Executioner Named Revenge
by Lily Hanson
Summary: "You need to pull through, Jake. I don't know what I'd do without you," she leaned over and kissed his forehead softly. "You have to wake up. You need to be okay." When he didn't respond Gia leaned back into her seat and her hand slipped out of his. She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them close. "I… I love you, Jake. Please, you have to wake up."
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Megaforce. This story is fan-made._

_Author's Note: This is not where the Megaforce series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost, I suggest you read my stories in the order they appear:_

_**No To Date Nights - The Party Night - Project Partners - Megaforce: Lives Behind The Masks - **__**Prom Night**__ - __**A Trip To Remember - First Meetings - Something She Loves – Protective Morans – Samurai In Harwood County – Rainy Days – Luck Had Nothing To Do With It – Ranger Support – Parents and Children – Hero Without The Spandex – Emma's Night – Emma's Mother – Bait And Switch – After Death – A Stormy Day – A Date For Tensou – A Mother's Advice – Mending Fences**_

"C'mon, mom, just try it. Everyone here has."

"You've tried it?"

"Of course I have," Mrs. Moran chuckled, surprising Mrs. Goodall who had to adjust the strap on Emma's helmet so it wold fit properly over her head. "Emma loves to BMX. Joe and I both got a lesson from her shortly after she moved in, just to see what all the fuss is about."

"And Emma and I ride together all the time," Gia said. She sat beside her mother on the curb, trying to supress a laugh at Mrs. Goodall in Emma's helmet and protective gear. It was a sight she never thought she would see. "It's really fun."

"Isn't it just like riding a bike?"

"Which you don't know how to do," Mrs. Moran said. Emma's jaw fell.

"You don't know how to ride a bike!?"

"I was never taught," Mrs. Goodall shrugged her shoulders.

"Gia, take pictures," Emma said and pointed to her bag which was right beside the yellow Ranger, today is going to be a lot of fun. Alright, mom, get on the bike."

"This is so backwards," Gia said as she pointed the camera at the two Goodalls. "A daughter teaching her mother to ride a bike."

"It's something," Mrs. Moran smiled and wrapped her arm around Gia, "Get some good pictures."

"Alright, mom," Emma said as she touched her mother's arm and held the back of her seat to keep her balanced, "You're going to put your feet on the peddles and you're going to start pushing. I'll be right behind you and I'll help you get going. All you need to do is keep peddling."

"Just keep peddling?"

"As long as you're moving, you'll have balance. You need to be moving so you don't fall."

"So then what happens when I stop? How do I stop?"

"The brakes are on the handlebars," Emma showed her mother quickly, "Front wheel and back wheel. Use the break for the back wheel or else you'll go flying forward."

"You're exaggerating."

"How do you think I know that, mom?" Emma chuckled. Her mother looked to her in horror but Emma took no time to comfort her. She instructed her mother to lift her feet and started pushing her forward. "Keep peddling, mom, you're doing it."

Mrs. Goodall screamed as she rode down the street, with Emma right behind her, keeping her balanced. Gia couldn't resist taking a picture.

"Peddle, mom! Peddle!"

"I don't want to!"

"You have to! Peddle!"

"I don't…" Mrs. Goodall couldn't finish her sentence when the bike tipped over and she fell on the grass. She pushed herself up and looked at Emma, who was shaking her head. "You let go?"

"You weren't peddling. That's what happens when you don't keep going. Will you peddle next time?"

"You let go!"

"Will you peddle next time?"

"I'll try."

"Okay, let's go again," Emma said and lifted the bike upright. "C'mon, get on."

"Sheesh," Mrs. Moran turned to Gia, "Remind me to never let Emma be my teacher."

"Mrs. Goodall wasn't peddling," Gia shrugged her shoulders. "Emma was just showing her how important it was."

"By dropping her?"

"That was comedy," Gia chuckled and show her mother a picture, "I got a shot of Mrs. Goodall falling right into the grass. Look at her face. Pure terror. Hilarious!"

"I loved you enough as a child, right?" Mrs. Moran asked her daughter teasingly and nudged her, "Good picture. I'm framing that one."

"Alright, we're doing this again," Emma said as her mother got back up on the bike, "You'll be peddling, I'll be right behind you."

"Not letting go."

"How else are you going to learn to ride a bike, never mind BMX? Seriously, mom, this is the easiest thing."

"Says you."

"Just peddle. We'll go slow."

Mrs. Goodall griped the handlebars as she felt the bike moving forward. She was moving her legs with the peddles, pushing when she had to, but she was scared of falling again.

"You're doing it, mom. See it's not that bad!" Emma said encouragingly. Mrs. Goodall looked over at her daughter and smiled.

"This is fun…" she said, but it wasn't too convincing.

"Just keep peddling, mom, I'm going to let go."

"You're WHAT?"

"You've got this," Emma said and then she must have let go because Mrs. Goodall felt the bike wobbling a little bit. But she followed her daughter's advice and continued to peddle and eventually the bike evened out. She rode down the road in a straight line and could feel her speed building up. She was moving quickly and the fast and further she got, the more she found herself enjoying the bike.

"Mom! You're going too far!" Emma called to her and Mrs. Goodall quickly looked over her shoulder. She saw Emma in the distance, waving frantically. Mrs. Moran was on her feet, looking on with worry.

Suddenly, the bike came to a stop. Mrs. Goodall was jolted forward but caught herself before she could be thrown off. She looked ahead of her and saw Gia had stopped her by placing her hand on the handlebars.

"You've got to walk before you can run," Gia shook her head. "That was too fast, even for Emma."

"How did you catch up to me?" Mrs. Goodall frowned and looked back over to where Mrs. Moran was standing. That had been the spot Gia had been sitting and taking pictures."

"I'm a fast runner," Gia said. She helped Mrs. Goodall off the bike and together they walked back up the street.

"Don't take off like that!" Emma frowned at her mother when they came back. "You need some speed, but not that much."

"Sorry, I guess I got carried away," Mrs. Goodall chuckled and put a hand on Emma's shoulder to reassure her she was okay. "I don't think biking or BMX is my thing, but I can see why you like it."

"You do?"

"That was thrilling," Mrs. Goodall nodded her head. "What do you say we go out for ice-cream to wind down?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Mrs. Moran agreed, "Gia, Emma, will one of you run back to the house and get…"

"My purse," Mrs. Goodall interrupted. "This is my treat."

"Doesn't matter who's buying," Gia shrugged her shoulders. "I just want ice-cream."

Gia handed Emma her camera and then picked up her bag. While Emma got distracted taking pictures of her mother in her protective gear, Gia walked back to the house to get the money for the ice-cream trip. When she reached the door she saw it was open.

"Hello?" she called and reached into her bag to pull out her morpher. She had been advised once by Gosei and another time by Dr. Oliver not to use her Ranger Powers for everyday problems, but if someone had broken into her home or put her family in danger, they were going to feel the wrath of the yellow Ranger – even if they were only a petty thief.

There was no noise from the house, though, and Gia assumed that whoever had come was now gone. She saw her mother's purse hanging from the closet door and checked inside to make sure nothing had been stolen. She found all of her mother's IDs, her credit cards, and all the cash she had. Then she found Mrs. Goodall's purse and looked through it. Nothing seemed to be missing.

"Someone must have just forgotten to close the door," Gia said with a shrug. They had only been on the street. She couldn't imagine there was anyone stupid enough to break into a home when the owners were right on the street. But when she reached for her key from the bowl, she couldn't grab it. She looked inside and found the keys to her mother's car, Mrs. Goodall's car, and the key to Emma's bike lock, but her set of the house keys.

"Gia, are you coming?" Emma called to her as she walked into the house. Gia handed her her mother's purse.

"Uh, why don't you go ahead?"

"Why, you love Ernie's," Emma said. "And there's no way you're passing up free ice-cream."

"Yeah, I know, but something came up."

"What?"

"It's no big deal. Go on ahead. Maybe I'll catch up."

"Gia…"

"Emma, I must have misplaced my set of house keys when I came home last night…"

"So take your mom's. Or here, mine is…"

"You know how I get with stuff like this," Gia shook her head. "I won't be able to enjoy the ice-cream until I know where my key is. You go ahead, have fun with your mother for once. I'll be right there once I figure out this key situation."

"Alright. Stay safe."

"I promise."

"Call when you find the key so I know when you're on your way."

"I know, Emma…"

"And keep your morpher with you."

"Thanks, Emma…"

"And…"

"I'm a big girl, Emma," Gia chuckled. "Don't worry. Have fun. I'll find the key and join you guys."

"Okay."

"Bye."

"Bye."


	2. Missing Keys and Brainfreeze

Gia's mind was amazing – or so she had been told by all her former teachers, who were always in awe when she handed in papers, reports, assignments, homework, or tests. She did well, she knew the material, and on several occasions she challenged her teachers on a level that far surpassed what they themselves knew on subjects they had been studying for years. She had been, and many ways still was the Queen of Harwood County High School because she was so smart, so beautiful, and good in everything she did. She was virtually unmatched. The only person in the school who could challenge her academically and intellectually was Noah Carver, who was one of the brilliant minds of the school and would no doubt move on to bigger and better things after graduation.

However, Gia could not find her house keys. She knew she had put them in the bowl. She remembered putting them in the bowl. She remembered seeing them land in the bowl after her hand let them go so they could fall in. She remembered hearing the clink they made when they landed. She remembered the other keys shifting slightly to accommodate another set. They had been in the bowl. They were supposed to be in the bowl.

But they weren't there.

All the time her mother, Mrs. Goodall, and Emma spent at Ernie's Gia looked around for her keys. She must have lost them, there was no other explanation. Of course, the door to the house had been unlocked when she came back, but nothing had been stolen, not even the purses that had been left in the front hallway. No robber would come in just to steal a house key. If they were already in the home, what would they need the key for?

"They could be coming back," Gia muttered to herself as the front door opened. She jumped, startled, and turned to see who was intruding.

"You missed it," Mrs. Moran told her daughter as the trio came back from getting ice-cream at Ernie's. "There was a talent show."

"Jake, Noah, Troy, and Jordan were there," Emma smiled and she had a piece of paper clutched to her chest. She noticed Gia looking and showed her what was on it. "Jordan performed and for his talent he drew a picture of us."

"That wasn't the best part," Mrs. Goodall shook her head. "Your friend Jake performed."

"How many keep ups he can do in a minute?" Gia asked while still looking around the front hallway. She hoped she was wrong about a robbery. She hoped she had just misplaced the keys.

"No, he danced."

"And it was just as awful as you can imagine," Emma chuckled. "You've got yourself a real special guy, Gia."

"Yeah, yeah…" Gia said but it was clear she wasn't listening. She checked under the key bowl before letting out a sigh, "Did someone take my keys?"

"You mean you've lost them?" Mrs. Moran asked with a loud groan, "Gia, how could you lose your house key?"

"I put it in the bowl," Gia said. Her mother looked inside and saw everything but Gia's key. She shook her head.

"Gia…"

"I did! I don't know where it went! When I came to get Mrs. Goodall's purse I found the house was unlocked. I figured someone just forgot to lock it…"

"Sorry, that was me," Mrs. Goodall said guiltily with a slight raise of her hand, "I've been spending the last few months living in hotels. Those doors close behind you when you leave and lock automatically. It's habit, I guess."

"You think someone stole you keys, Gia?" Emma asked with a frown. "Well, I don't see anything else missing."

"Me neither, but…"

"You must have just misplaced them," Mrs. Moran said. "You'll look for them until you find them. Understood?"

"I have been…"

"Understood?"

"Yes," Gia sighed. Mrs. Moran nodded her head and then walked to the kitchen to finish the rest of her ice-cream. Mrs. Goodall followed her and the two women started to talk. Emma walked up to Gia and touched her arm.

"It'll turn up."

"I don't lose stuff," Gia shook her head. "I put my key in the bowl. The house was unlocked."

"You're just stressing out because you lost the key. You're imagining the worst. Look, I filmed Jake's dancing on my phone. We'll go watch it, laugh at how much of a dork he is, and then I'll help you look. It's going to turn up."

"You think?"

"It's got to be somewhere."

-Megaforce-

Jake, Troy, Jordan, and Noah were still at the Brainfreeze after the talent show. While Jordan and Jake had both performed, neither had won. However, for performing, Ernie had given them both free sundaes which they shared with Jordan and Noah.

It wasn't often they got to hang out together just the four guys, and when they did, usually Ranger business got in the way. For the first time in what felt like ages, they could just hang out and be teenage boys.

"I still can't believe you went up there and danced," Troy shook his head and chuckled to Jake. "Has anyone, ever told you you're good at dancing?"

"No one."

"So then why… humiliate yourself?" Jordan asked.

Jake shook his head and pointed his spoon at the two boys, "I did not feel a shred of humiliation up there. Especially since I was up after you. Do you know how boring it is to watch you draw a lovey dovey picture of you and Emma? Someone had to liven up that party. Besides, everyone laughed and had a good time."

"Jake's always had that confidence," Noah explained to Jordan and Troy, who didn't seem to understand why Jake would want to show off what clearly wasn't a talent to everyone at the Brainfreeze. "He never cares what people think about him."

"I don't see why it should bother me," Jake said and then nudged Troy, "Dude, come on, you should get it. Why should it matter what people think if they don't know me?"

"That doesn't mean I'll go up on stage and dance when I know I can't," Troy smirked.

"I believe in myself," Jake said. He then nudged Troy again, "Confidence wins over the chicks. Speaking of which, there's one right over there who can't seem to take her eyes off you."

"She's looking at me?" Troy asked and glanced over to the table. He saw one of the girls quickly avert her gaze and her friends around her started giggling. She had been staring, he knew it. He turned back to Jake, "You think she's likes me?"

"You're the most handsome dude at this table," Jake gave his friend a pat on the back, "You know, behind me, but I've already got Gia, so…"

"I'm not into dating," Troy shook his head. "I've got to focus on being a Ranger. Look at what's already happened to Jordan and Mr. Moran. I'm not going to be an idiot and put someone else in danger."

"Even if your pants are getting tight?" Jordan teased.

"My pants aren't… look, she's cute, I'm flattered, but I'm also focused. Jordan, you've already gotten hurt because you know our secret, and Mr. Moran is dead. If that's not enough to convince you all that dating is bad for Rangers, then just look at what happened when I got caught up with my sister."

"You're dating your sister?" Jake frowned and stuck out his tongue. "Dude, that's…"

"I just meant, I've already got someone in my life who took me away from one battle," Troy said. "I couldn't come up with a reason for leaving Rebecca and because of that, I left you guys stranded. I can't let that happen again."

"Why, because you're leader?" Jake asked. "Look, I know I was hard on you, dude, but that's what lying is for."

"And it's not a malicious lie," Jordan said. "You're lying to protect her."

"Says the boyfriend who dumped his injured girlfriend because she didn't tell him she was a Ranger," Noah shot Jordan a look. He rolled his eyes and groaned.

"I'm never living that down, am I?"

"Nope," the three other boys shook their heads. Jake put his arm around Troy's shoulders.

"Look, I'm not saying you fall in love and marry the girl," he said. "I'm not even saying you get exclusive with her. Just go up there, flirt a little bit, and get some numbers and some bragging rights."

"I'm not leading girls on. Besides, what's it to you?" Troy asked. "You have a girlfriend."

"And I don't think Gia would approve of you encouraging Troy to play around with a girl's heart," Noah reminded Jake.

The black Ranger scratched the back of his neck, "Alright, well, when you put it that way…"

"I'm not flirting with girls," Troy said. He looked to Jake and Jordan, "You two took up the only two girls who are safe for us to date. Noah and I are just going to have to fly solo until the mutants and the Warstar is defeated."

"I have no problem there," Noah smiled. He took another spoonful of his sundae before noticing an older couple walking over to his table. He signaled to the boys to be quiet about their Ranger talk as the couple got closer.

"Excuse me," the woman said and leaned down to talk to the boys, "I'm sorry, my husband and I couldn't help but overhear."

All four of the boys gulped. They could have sworn they hadn't been too loud.

"We thought we heard you say something about Gia? Gia Moran?"

"What's it to you?" Jake asked.

"Do you know her?"

"Again, what's it to you?"

"We read all about what happened to her in the paper and online. It's such a shame," the woman said. "She must be going through a rough time."

"She's getting over it," Jake said and looked around at the boys. What happened to Gia was in the past, as far as they were all concerned, and while it was nice to see her story still had an impact on people, it was really no one's business how she was doing now.

"You're her boyfriend?" the man asked Jake. "You must be something special. After all she's been through…"

"Why are you here?" Troy suddenly asked, interrupting the man. He shook his head. The woman answered.

"We just wanted to offer our support or… whatever. You know, so she knows there are still people who think what happened was completely…"

"Unjust," the man finished for his wife. "Really, it's a shame to see someone so young suffer so much."

"Well, thanks," Jake said. He tapped Noah lightly on the arm as all the boys started gathering up their bags and personal items from the table, "You know, we've got to be somewhere."

"Already, well you boys take care!" the woman said before she and the man returned to their table. The four boys rushed out of the Brainfreeze and then peeked back in through the window to look at the couple.

"Okay, that was weird," Noah said, "And did they look at all familiar to you?"

"Nope," Jordan shook his head, "But what do I know? I don't really look creepy people in the face."

"Maybe they were just trying to be nice," Troy shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes nice can come off as…"

"Creepy?"

"Over-friendly," Troy suggested. "Gia's story did get a lot of media attention and people have opinions. At least they were supportive."

"Doesn't matter," Jake shook his head and already he had his cell phone to his ear, "I'm telling Gia to watch out. I don't think she needs people coming up to her and reminding her of what happened."


	3. Empty Beds

For a couple of days, Gia spent her spare time searching the house for her keys. After calming down it seemed a ridiculous idea that someone would break into the house just to steal the keys. She had to have misplaced them, but she couldn't think of where. Whenever she was asked where the last place she saw her keys was, her answer was inside the bowl. It got to the point where she was so frustrated with herself for not remembering what she had done with the keys, that Mrs. Moran took her out to make a new key, which Gia would have to pay for.

"Alright," Mrs. Moran said as she and Gia stood in front of the key cutter. She held up her own key, "Before we do this, you checked the bowl?"

"It's not there."

"And your bedroom? The bathrooms? Your bag? The car? The Brainfreeze? The lost and found at the mountains?"

"Emma even checked along the trail in the woods," Gia said. "Mom, I've looked everywhere, I have no idea where the key could be. I put it in the bowl, that's all I know."

"Alright. Give the man the money."

Gia sighed as she pulled out some money from her wallet. She gave it to the key cutter and then Mrs. Moran handed over her key. As he got to work with the key, Mrs. Moran looked to Gia, "It's not like you to lose things."

"I know," Gia rolled her eyes.

"Is everything okay?"

"Fine."

"A lot has been changing, recently, and you know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"I know. Everything's fine, mom. You know, I am allowed to lose things from time to time."

"Well, when you find your key, the new one can go to Claire."

"She's moving out."

"Her daughter's living with us. I think it's fair we let her have a key so she can visit when she needs."

"So, she's going to be over all the time now, isn't she?"

"I didn't complain when you had Emma over all the time," Mrs. Moran chuckled. Gia stuck out her tongue.

"At least this time I didn't almost get shot. What was Mr. Goodall thinking? Seriously?"

"Parents will do crazy things for their children," Mrs. Moran said and brushed some of Gia's hair behind her ears, "You don't understand how crazy it would make me if I lost you."

"I watched you… murder Noah." Gia whispered so no one would hear her, though the key cutting was quite loud and could easily drown her out, "I think I know what losing me would do to you."

"That was an alien clone," Mrs. Moran frowned and gently shoved her daughter, "I would never hurt a real person."

"Here's your key," the key cutter said as he handed Mrs. Moran her key and then offered Gia the new one. Gia put it in the front pocket of her bag right away, and made sure her mom saw so she wouldn't lose it again. Mrs. Moran smiled at her daughter before they left the shop to walk home.

"You know," Mrs. Moran said, "If Emma's going to be spending more time with her mother, that means you and I are going to be left on our own from time to time."

"Mom…"

"It kind of scares me," Mrs. Moran sighed. "You girls already spend so little time at home, what with you hanging out with friends and being Rangers and stuff. Now that Emma's going to want to be with her mother a little more… we're going to be…"

"Alone?"

"If all goes well. Once Claire moves out, we're back to a family of three. We haven't been that way since…"

"Before Emma moved in," Gia whispered. "When dad was still alive."

"If Emma's not home as often…"

"It'll be empty."

"I'll be honest with you, Gia. Being alone does scare me."

"You can always date Tensou," Gia muttered. "According to Noah, he's still talking about how amazing you are. I think Gosei's heard enough too."

"It's the reason I don't sleep in my bed anymore, Gia. I just… I can't handle it," Mrs. Moran said and looked at her daughter. "I don't remember what it's like to be alone."

"You know what might help?"

"What?"

"If we both slept in your bed tonight," Gia said. She turned to her mother. "That way you're not alone."

"I'd never ask you to do that," Mrs. Moran shook her head and wrapped her arms around Gia. Since Mr. Moran's death, no one but Mrs. Goodall had opened the master bedroom door. Doing so would remind them he was gone for good. For Mrs. Moran, sleeping in bed without him would be a painful remind of how alone she felt. For Gia, it would be strange sleeping in her parent's bed, on her father's side, and know he wasn't going to come home.

When she had been a little girl, he sometimes worked late nights. It wasn't very often. Usually just around the holidays, when the company got very busy and he needed to work overtime to get all his jobs done and papers filled. It was unsettling to young Gia and when she heard her mother go to bed and her father still hadn't come into her room to say goodnight, she would get scared. She would run into her parents' bedroom and crawl into bed with her mother. When Mr. Moran did finally get home, he was always too tired to move his daughter back to her bed, so instead he would move her to the middle of the bed and the three of them would sleep together.

Gia hadn't shared a bed with her mother without knowing her father would come home eventually. Mrs. Moran didn't like the idea of having to sleep in her bed alone, but would never ask her daughter to face her fears just to help her conquer her own. It was supposed to be the other way around. She was the parent. She needed to face her fears to show Gia everything would be okay.

"You're not asking, and I want to do it," Gia said. "I'm tired of the bedroom door always being closed. That and the door to the den. The house feels… closed."

"You can bail whenever you feel like it," Mrs. Moran said. "I'm comfortable on the mattress downstairs."

"Mrs. Goodall can take my bed tonight," Gia walked up the driveway to her house and smiled to her mother, "We'll sleep in your bed. It's going to have to happen some day."


	4. An Ambush

Jake had been told to take it easy by Tensou and his teammates after their last battle left him with a concussion. He wasn't supposed to be playing soccer, and explained to his coach that he would have to sit out the next few games if he wanted to recover. His coach understood completely, but he felt he had let his teammates down. They had several big games coming up, and they had been counting on him showing up. By now, all their opponents knew he was a good player and they were definitely going to take advantage of the fact that his position was being filled in by a substitute to try and win some games.

So, he wanted to make it up to his team. He wanted to be ready and warmed up for when he returned to the field. He kept his practice sessions easy so as not to hurt himself again, but he was going at it, pushing himself as much as he safely could so he would be ready for his next game.

He kicked the ball in the net and smiled as the power he managed to put into the shot. Hard kicks weren't always the best choice, but if he could shoot hard and with accuracy on net then there was very little to keep him from scoring goals. He congratulated himself with a little dance even though he had been told by everyone who had ever seen him dancing that he was no good.

He then went to pick up the ball from the net. As he bent over, he felt himself being grabbed. His arms were pulled back behind him and held tightly by someone bigger and a lot stronger than him. Before Jake could do anything, someone else in a mask walked up in front of him and punched him right in the stomach. Without his arms to defend himself, he couldn't block the punch and had to take it as best as he could. He tried to wriggle his way out of his captor's hold, but he couldn't move his arms at all.

"You're strong," he said and then took another punch, this time to the chest. He continued to try and break free, and eventually he did. He blocked a punch from the man who thought he could beat him up, flipped him over and then started to run. He didn't get very far before a bunch of other men, probably about a dozen, surrounded him on the field. Like the other two, they were all wearing masks.

Masks and Harwood County High Letterman jackets. These were or had been students from his school. When Jake looked around to try and figure out if he knew his attackers, he figured it had to be the latter. They were all much bigger than he was and from what he could tell, they seemed older.

"What did I ever do to you guys?" Jake asked before he was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground. He looked down the field, where he had left his bag and his morpher and then felt a kick to the ribs. He curled up into a ball and tried to protect himself as best as he could. He was outnumbered and taken by surprise, and with his concussion, he couldn't risk fighting back. He had to find a way out.

Suddenly, he felt a blow to the head and everything went black.

-Megaforce-

Troy walked through the park with his sister. While she insisted she was okay after the birth and adopting of her baby, Troy had noticed she had been a little upset. She had been looking forward to the end of her pregnancy and moving on from her mistakes, but now that the time had come, she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. She was a lot like Gia, Troy had noticed, in the manner where a lot of her teenage years had been taken from her and she was left without a sense of direction or a sense of who she was. And with school still weeks away, there was no way for her to find herself. Troy knew he had to get her out of the house.

"I could train you, you know," he suggested. "You might like it, and with the city under attack by monsters, you never know when it could come in handy."

"Troy, I'm still sore and tired from pushing a human being out of my you-know-what," Rebecca grumbled. "I don't feel like… exercising."

"It could be good for you. You know, to drop the baby weight. Mom is still complaining about that. Hey, why don't you start jogging with her?"

"Jogging?"

"Some people enjoy it. That could be your thing."

Rebecca shook her head, "Exercise is not my thing."

"Well, what inspires you?"

"I don't know. TV."

"You're not sitting on the couch all day."

"I'm not just sitting on the couch. I'm also watching TV. Do you know how complicated that gets? Don't get me started on how frustrating it is when there's nothing on TV."

"You live in one of the most beautiful cities in California," Troy said. "Every day Emma goes down to the same forest, down the same trail, and she always comes back with new pictures and a new story. And you want to spend all your time inside watching TV?"

"You could put the TV and couch outside. I can tan and watch TV."

"What if I invited my friends to the beach?" Troy suggested. "It's warm out, you can tan there, and there's always something to do at the beach."

"Troy, have you not seen my stomach since the baby?" Rebecca asked. "I've got stretch marks and flab!"

"Where a swimsuit that covers your stomach."

"I'm post-pregnancy. No one should be seeing anything that is currently covered up by clothing. Stupid baby ruined me."

"My friends aren't going to…"

"Troy!" Rebecca cried and pointed over his shoulder. Troy spun around and put himself in front of his sister to protect her, worried she had seen a monster. Instead, he saw something much worse. He saw a sight that made him second guess why he wanted to save humanity from monsters.

"It's an ambush!" Rebecca said and grabbed her brother's arm. "It's like, fourteen against one!"

"Stay here," Troy said to his sister before he ran over to the soccer fields, where a group of young men seemed to be beating up a smaller kid. Troy had no idea what had caused the fight, or who was truly at fault. No one deserved to be attacked and beaten up.

"Hey! Hey!" he shouted and when he saw all the attackers were wearing masks he grabbed one and ripped it off. He spun the guy around, "What do you think you're doing?"

He was shoved but he didn't back down.

"Beat it, punk!"

"Troy," Rebecca called as she approached the soccer field slowly, "I called the police. They're on their way."

"Quick, guys, scram!" the unmasked attacker cried out. Troy wanted to go after them and keep them here until the police showed up, but he knew there wasn't a way he could do that without his Ranger powers, and with Rebecca looking on he couldn't morph. He did his best to remember the face of the one man he unmasked and let them all run off. They would be caught eventually. They had been wearing jackets from the school so surely he could figure out one of their names by looking through the yearbook.

"Jake!" Rebecca screamed and Troy looked down at the boy who had been in the center of the beating. His heart dropped when he saw it was Jake and he was in a bad way.

"Troy, you have to do something," Rebecca said as she came over. She put her hand on Jake's chest. She could feel it rising and falling slowly, which meant he was still alive. Troy checked his pulse.

"Why would they do this?" Rebecca asked as she turned to Troy, "What do you think Jake did to them?"

"You called the police?" Troy asked. Rebecca nodded her head but couldn't take her eyes off Jake. She gently tapped his cheek to try and wake him, but he didn't respond.

"Don't," Troy gently grabbed her hand and pulled it away, "He's already hurt. You don't want to make it worse."

"Why would someone do this, Troy?" Rebecca looked up at her brother and then fell into his arms. "Why would they all gang up on him like that?"

"I don't know," Troy gave his sister a tight hug and then let go. He got back to his feet and took out his cell phone, "Stay with him until the police arrive, Becca. I've got to call his dad and the others."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Just stay with him, Becca. Don't leave his side."

Rebecca nodded her head and then looked down at Jake sadly. She tried to come up with a reason for why fourteen men would beat him up. She tried to imagine what he could have done to justify this. She couldn't, and it wasn't just because she knew Jake to be a good guy, she just couldn't imagine why anyone would deserve to be beaten so badly. She took Jake's hand gently.

"You're going to be okay," she promised him. "We'll find out who did this."


	5. It's Bad

Noah had never seen Jake so lifeless. He sat by his best friend's bed side praying for something good to happen.

It hadn't been long since he had received the call from Troy. A group of young man, barely any older than himself, had been seen beating Jake on the soccer field. By the time Troy and Rebecca saw what was happening and could help, that had already been beaten to a state where he was no longer conscious. From what Noah could see as Jake lay motionless and helpless on the bed, his face, neck, chest, and arms were covered in bruises. The rest of him was covered in blankets, so Noah couldn't see the damage done. His lip was slip and he had several cuts on his face. A machine was helping his body get the oxygen it needed to stay alive while another machine kept track of his heart rate, which was very low, but Noah was thankful it was still beating.

He couldn't understand how something like this could happen. Of course, Jake wasn't the kind of guy to simply walk away if someone started bothering him, but he couldn't imagine Jake being stupid enough to challenge a whole group of bigger men to a fight, especially unmorphed. While all of the Rangers had learned a lot about self-defence and martial arts during their time, nothing could protect them in the real world. Without their suits to absorb some of the damage, without their weapons to give them power, and without their teammates to watch their backs, the Rangers were no better than regular martial artists, and when ambushed, they were at risk of getting very hurt.

Noah couldn't imagine what caused this fight, how why Jake would find himself alone in the middle of it. He had no idea who would want to hurt his best friend. He just knew he wanted to find the person responsible.

He also knew Jake would never be the same person again. Noah couldn't imagine being so outnumbered and overpowered. He couldn't imagine the confusion and terror Jake felt, knowing he had been alone. He couldn't imagine what state Jake would wake up in, if he would even wake up. He had been suffering from a concussion before the beaten, and as Noah had heard, he had taken several blows to the head, furthering his injury and the permanence of the damage. Noah took off his glasses to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"He's got a strong head," Mr. Holling put a comforting hand on Noah's shoulder and then gave the boy a tight hug. Noah had been Jake's best friend since the boys had been very young and Mr. Holling had always loved Noah and his influence on Jake. His son had never been a bad kid, and always had good intentions in his heart, but he was sometimes misguided. Noah kept him grounded in a sense where he could get Jake to slow down on some of his ideas and think. Noah had always been the voice of reason and common sense.

"What if it's not enough?" Noah asked. Mr. Holling sighed.

"We have to hope."

Noah nodded his head and then turned back to Jake. What angered him the most about what happened was how powerless Noah felt. If it had been a monster, Noah knew he and the other Rangers could destroy him. This was real life, and not only was Noah forced to stand aside and hope for the best, but he had no idea who hurt his friend and how to make them pay.

"Your parents arrived," Mr. Holling said. "They want to see you."

"I want to stay here."

"Noah, you're only hurting yourself."

"Mr. Holling…"

"I'll stay here with Jake," Mr. Holling promised. "I'll let you know if anything happens. Go take a break. Grab a bite to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Noah, go," Mr. Holling pointed to the door and lifted Noah from his seat, forcing him to leave the room. Noah stepped out into the hallway and put his head in his hand. Then, not wanting to be alone, he walked back down to the waiting room. He found his parents, Troy, and Rebecca were waiting there.

"How is he?" his father asked and Noah was taken into his arms for a hug. The blue Ranger shrugged his shoulders.

"It's anyone's guess. It's really bad, though."

"I got a good look at one of the guys," Troy said as he held Rebecca in his arms. She hadn't been able to stop crying since she had discovered the fight and seen it was Jake who was in the middle of it all. "I gave the police his description, and they were all wearing jackets from school. They'll look into it."

"You said they were wearing masks?" Mrs. Carver asked Troy, who nodded his head sadly. Unfortunately, only one of the men out of fourteen had been unmasked. If he was caught, there were still thirteen more who could get away with their actions. It wasn't enough. They all needed to be brought to justice. Mrs. Carver shook her head, "Those cowards. They pick on one kid and hide behind their masks so they can't get caught."

"They can be caught," Troy looked up at Mrs. Carver. "We have to do all we can to help."

"My son!" a woman cried frantically and the party turned around to see Mrs. Holling rushing in. She went right up to the desk and grabbed the nurse. She started to shake her, "Where the hell is my son?"

"Sally," Mrs. Carver called and rushed over to calm her down. Mrs. Holling turned to see Noah, his parents, Troy, and Rebecca were already there.

"What happened to my son? Who did this? Why are you all just standing around here?"

"Sally, calm down," Mrs. Carver offered her a warm hug, "The doctors are doing their best to look after him. He's stable…"

"Get lost!" Mrs. Holling shoved Mrs. Carver away and walked right up to Noah, "What the hell happened? Why weren't you there?"

"Jake was just at the soccer fields," Noah shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't even know…"

"Useless," Mrs. Holling pushed him aside and then walked back over to the desk to talk to the nurse, "Where is my son? I want to see my son!"

"Mam, you're going to have to calm down before we let you in to see anybody," one of the male nurses warned her as he walked over to the desk. Mrs. Holling let out a shriek and stomped her foot. She was about to protest, and loudly, when she saw the doors opening again and someone she knew walking in.

"You," she growled as she approached Gia, Jake's girlfriend, the girl she knew had always been poison to her son and would hurt him. Aggressively she charged at Gia. She threw the yellow Ranger into the wall and pressed her there. She put a hand around her neck, "If I find out you had anything to do with this, I swear you're going to regret the day you…"

Mrs. Holling let out a scream as someone pulled her hair back and ripped her away from Gia. She hit the floor and looked up. Gia's mother stood over her.

"Never touch my daughter."

"She's a…!"

"Never. Touch. My. Daughter," Mrs. Moran growled. Mrs. Holling looked up at her with slight fear. She nodded her head and pushed herself up to her feet. Then she stormed off complaining everyone was being unfair.

"Where's Jake?" Gia whispered and looked over to Noah as she rubbed her neck. He gestured over his shoulder.

"I can take you to see him, but I have to warn you, Gia…"

"I want to see him."

"It's really bad."

"I want to see him."

Noah nodded his head and led Gia down the hallway to Jake's room. He warned her one more time before opening the door that she wasn't going to like what she saw.

"Gia?" Mr. Holling said when he saw she had finally arrived. Gia's eyes fell on Jake and they started to water.

"Can I…"

"I'll give you some space," Mr. Holling nodded. "I'll be right in the hall. Noah…?"

Noah nodded. He gave Gia a hug before leaving her alone. Gia sat down next to the bed and took Jake's hand. She had heard all about what had happened when Troy called her and from news reports on the radio in the car. She knew it had been bad, and from personal experience, she knew what Jake had suffered. If he could pull through, he was never going to be the same again.

"You need to pull through, Jake. I don't know what I'd do without you," she leaned over and kissed his forehead softly. "You have to wake up. You need to be okay."

When he didn't respond Gia leaned back into her seat and her hand slipped out of his. She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them close.

"I… I love you, Jake. Please, you have to wake up."


	6. She Loves Him

Mr. Holling returned to the room after about an hour, deciding that was more than enough time for Gia to sit by Jake's bedside. He knew his son would enjoy the company if he were awake, but he couldn't stand the thought of Gia all alone in his room. The young girl had already been through enough.

It broke his heart to see the tears on her face when he walked in. She tried to wipe them away and act strong so Mr. Holling didn't say anything about it. He helped her out of her seat and walked her out to the hallway, where Noah was waiting for her.

"I'm going to stay overnight," Noah assured Gia. "I can't leave him like this."

"I…"

"Please find out who did this," Noah put his hands on Gia's shoulders and looked right into her eyes. He wanted to be the one to find Jake's attackers and bring them down, but he couldn't leave Jake's side, and he knew he wasn't the strongest of Rangers. If he were to stand toe to toe with up to fourteen guys who could give Jake the beating of his life, he would certainly lose. Gia stood a much better chance than he did, and he wanted justice. "You owe it to Jake."

He didn't like using those words on Gia, but he felt they were true. When the tables had been turned, when it was Gia who had been in danger, Jake had stopped at nothing to save her from Cliff's hands. Gia now had the chance to repay that debt. Noah needed her out on the hunt instead of by Jake's side. "I'll tell him you were here. He'll know how much you care."

Gia lowered her head and then pulled Noah into a storage closet. She looked him dead in the eyes.

"You tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, I'll rip your tongue out through your nose."

"Is that even…"

"I told Jake I loved him."

Noah's jaw dropped, "You… you…. When?"

"Just now. He… didn't hear me."

"Yeah, Gia, he's out pretty bad."

"You can't tell anyone, Noah, not even Jake, not if he wakes up."

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm still scared."

"Of Jake?"

"Of getting hurt."

"Jake won't…"

"Noah, it's complicated, okay. The only person I ever thought I loved was… Cliff. Look at what he turned into."

"Gia…"

"I know Jake's not going to hurt me. I know he's a good guy. I can trust him, that's why I love him. I just… I can't go through it again, Noah. This is all happening so fast, and he's such a good guy, and he doesn't deserve this or me or…"

"You're good enough for Jake."

"Shut up."

"Gia, seriously," Noah hugged the yellow Ranger. "It's obvious you care a lot about him. I mean… you love him. That's really big."

"You can't tell anyone, Noah. Not Troy, not Emma, not…"

"Emma?"

"She doesn't know."

"She doesn't?"

"Maybe suspects," Gia shrugged her shoulders and then let out a sigh. "She always somehow knows, but I've never confirmed it."

"So I'm the only one? And you're telling me…?"

"Because someone should know."

"It should be Jake, Gia."

"Yeah, but I'm scared. I'm scared of telling him, I'm scared of what's going to happen to him. I can't lose him, Noah. I can't!"

"You won't," Noah gave her another hug. "You do what you do best. Find the bastards who did this and take them down. I'll be here, helping Jake get better."

"Please do."

"Please find them," Noah said. Gia nodded her head. She gave Noah a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving the storage room. Noah walked out behind her and when he turned to go to Jake's room he saw an older man walking around in a hospital gown. The older man winked at him.

"Uh, no, sir, it's not what you think…"

"Atta boy, sonny," the older man said.

"No, but sir, I… oh, whatever," Noah chuckled and waved to the man before walking into Jake's room.


	7. Going Solo

It was late, but Gia wasn't sure Gosei slept. She had already walked passed Tensou, who was shut down in a corner of the command center, resting for the night. She walked up so she was right in front of the big face on the wall and then cleared her throat.

"You are not supposed to be here at this hour," Gosei's eyes lit up and his voice boomed through the command center. Gia winced when she heard Tensou had been woken up and he was startled. He rolled around the command center in a panic, thinking they were under attack.

"Tensou, calm down," she cried, grabbing the plate on his back to stop him rolling around. "It's just me."

"Yellow Ranger? What are you doing here?"

Gia turned back to Gosei, "Jake was attacked."

"I am aware," Gosei answered and Gia clenched her fists. She felt that if he knew about the attack, he should have informed her and the team. They could have helped. She bit her tongue about the matter and took in a deep breath.

"The cops are too slow, Gosei, I…"

"Are you suggesting I give you permission to use your Ranger powers to interfere with your personal lives? It saddens me what has happened to Jake, but we do not get involved with daily crime."

"Gosei, Troy said it was over a dozen men who attacked him! Unprovoked, surely. How can you say…?"

"These powers are not to be used for personal gain. I am sorry, Gia, but you are going to have to let the police do their job."

"But Gosei…"

"No. You do not have permission to use your powers to take down a misguided group of assailants. You have a justice system, and if the Rangers get involved in this case, the city will only expect…"

"Gosei, I'm getting involved with or without your support and protection," Gia crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the big head. "Either you give me something that'll keep me safe when I take the bastards down or I'm going in there alone."

"I cannot allow you to do that," Gosei said. Gia was about to say something else when she heard her name being called loudly and angrily. She winced and turned around. It was her mother. Behind her, Tensou shrank away and rolled back into the shadows.

"Sorry, yellow Ranger, I had to."

"Giana Moran, you get back home and back to your room this instant!" her mother shouted and pointed, well, to a rock wall. She had been teleported here by Tensou and so didn't know which way was out. Gia got the message though, but she wouldn't be moved.

"Mom, I…"

"No. With or without Ranger protection, you are going to let the police handle Jake's case. They are trained professionals; they know what they're doing…"

"But, mom, I…"

"I don't want to hear it!" Mrs. Moran shouted. "Do that teleporting thingy back to your room and then you and I will discuss this behaviour."

"Mom!"

"NOW!"

"Isn't she beautiful?" Tensou said with a content sigh.

Gia groaned unhappily and pulled out her morpher to go back to her home. Her mother shook her head and then glared angrily up at Gosei.

"You're the tiki wall art I hear absolutely nothing about except that you're responsible for giving my daughter this responsibility to protect the world."

"I am Gosei…"

"Screw you, Gosei," Mrs. Moran said and flashed him the middle finger. "Tensou, thanks for bringing me here. Can I go home, now?"

"Right away Mrs. Yellow Ranger's mom."

"Tensou, I've told you, you can call me Vanessa," she said before she disappeared.


	8. Another Assault

Vanessa returned to the house, but she wasn't used to teleporting and landed very ungracefully on her butt in the living room. She let out a loud groan before getting back up to her feet. She had a look around for her daughter, who had left only moments before she had. It wasn't long before she heard a noise from the kitchen. With anger for her daughter, she stormed into the kitchen.

What she saw was horrific. About a dozen strangers were inside her kitchen, all of them were wearing masks. She had no idea how they had gotten inside, but by the looks of things, they weren't going to get very far without a fight. When Gia teleported back home, she must have seen them because she was in the middle of a vicious fight. She was largely outnumbered and it was beginning to show that she would eventually lose the fight, but she was giving it all she had. Mrs. Moran let out a cry and tried to run for the knife block on the counter, but as soon as she pulled one out and turned around, it was slapped from her hand and she was punched hard in the head. She hit the counter top and fell to the ground unmoving.

"Mom!" Gia cried but couldn't get to her mother in time. Two men grabbed her, one arm each, but as she continued to tug and fight, more came over to help. Before she knew it, someone was holding her with his arm wrapped around her shoulders and he held a knife to her throat while one of his friends pointed a gun at her head. When Gia was forced to stand still or die one of two ways, if not both, the two men holding her hurried up the stairs. Gia knew where they were going.

"Don't hurt her, please," she begged and looked to the man with the gun. "I'll do anything."

A couple of men tumbled down the stairs, but behind them came Emma. She was escorted halfway down before she was pushed. She fell down the rest of the way and just managed to start picking herself up when she was grabbed by the hair and pulled up to her feet. She whimpered slightly from the pain, but she stopped moving when she saw Gia. She straightened out as much as she could with the one main holding her by her hair.

"Don't hurt her, please," she begged. "I'll do anything."

The man who held her nodded and suddenly Emma was blinded as a bag covered her head. Her arms were pulled behind her and bound tightly before she was walked out of the house; or so she assumed because she couldn't see.

"Want to know where you can find her?" the man who held the gun asked Gia and then held out a list of directions. Gia barely had time to read it all before he crumbled it up into a ball and then one of his friends set it on fire with a lighter. He tossed it into the sink to let it burn. Gia tried to fight against the man holding her, having deciding that a knife to her throat was no longer a threat.

Only some of the men had taken Emma away, and so the others were left with Gia. They knew it was time to go soon, but Gia could see the cruel and playful look in their eyes.

"He always did say you were fun," one of the men was brave enough to get up close to Gia. He grabbed her wrists when she tried to grab him and then stroked her cheek, "And you are a babe."

"That'll be quite a show for the police to see once they get here."

Gia and then men looked over to the kitchen entrance. Mrs. Goodall held up her cell phone and showed the screen to everyone. They could see the police had already been called and were on their way.

"Another time, then," the man stroked Gia's cheek one more time before he and the others ran off. The one who held the knife to Gia's neck dropped it and bolted, but not before she could grab the sleeve of his jacket. He decided to take it off to run. He slipped out of it before Gia could get a firm hold of his arm. He was the last to leave the house. She wanted to go after him, but Mrs. Goodall grabbed her.

"It's okay, Gia," she hugged the yellow Ranger tightly, "They're gone now."

"It's them!" Gia screamed and looked up at Mrs. Goodall. "Those are the guys who beat up Jake! I know it!"

"Gia…"

"They took Emma with them!"

"I'm worried too, Gia, but you have to let the police do their job. You've got his jacket so…"

"I have to go…"

"No," Mrs. Goodall had to hold on tightly. She could understand why it had taken a team of men to restrain Gia. She stood her ground and eventually the yellow Ranger crumbled. Mrs. Goodall walked her over to the couch. She set her down, "Just stay here until the police show up. You know more than I do. I'll look after your mother."

"Mom!" Gia cried and tried to get up. Mrs. Goodall pushed her down and then sat with her. She held the yellow Ranger until she spotted the throw blanket on the couch. She wrapped it around Gia's shoulders gently to keep her calm and then got up and walked back to the kitchen. She knelt beside Mrs. Moran, who was still unconscious on the cold tile.

"Vanessa, c'mon," she put her hand on her best friend's back and shook her as gently as she could. When it was clear Mrs. Moran wouldn't wake, Mrs. Goodall bit her lip and sighed.

"I never wanted to repay my debt to you this way," she said and looked over her shoulder and into the living room. "Just rest up, Vanessa. I'll take care of the girls."

She heard the police sirens coming down the street and opened the door to let them all inside.


	9. No Police

Gia didn't say much to the police as they questioned her on what happened. She knew it wasn't right to interfere with their case by withholding information, but she couldn't trust they would get the job done in time. Jake was already hurt badly, her mother had been attacked, and they had taken Emma. This was personal, and Gia only knew of one way to settle it.

"Thank you, officers," Mrs. Goodall said sadly as she escorted the last of the police officers out of the house, "If we remember anything else, we'll call right away."

"Have a good night, mam," the final officer tipped his hat and followed his partner into the car. Mrs. Goodall closed the door and let out a sigh. It would be hard to have a good night now.

She walked back to the living room and found Gia curled up on the couch. She took a seat beside the yellow Ranger and sighed.

"We can visit your mother tomorrow morning. By then, she should be awake."

"You can visit mom. I'm heading out."

"Gia, your mother doesn't want you mountain boarding with a broken arm," Mrs. Goodall shook her head. "Besides, those boys are still out there. I don't want you…"

"I'm not mountain boarding," Gia shook her head. She got up from the couch and made her way to the kitchen. She grabbed a scrap piece of paper and a pen and started writing. Mrs. Goodall looked over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"I was given directions to find Emma."

"You mean the paper they burned in the sink?" Mrs. Goodall frowned. "Gia, I saw him hold up that paper. You barely had five seconds to…"

"Ten seconds, and that's enough," Gia muttered.

"Are you sure those are right?" Mrs. Goodall asked as Gia finished writing the last direction. The yellow Ranger reread her work and nodded her head.

"A few words were fuzzy, but I know for sure I need to end up here," Gia pointed to the last instruction on the paper. Mrs. Goodall grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.

"You're not going anywhere," she shook her head. "We'll tell the police you remember what was on that paper they showed you, and they are…"

"Not going to do a damn thing about it," Gia replied. "These are the same guys that attacked Jake, I know it. They made this personal. I'm…"

"How do you know it?" Mrs. Goodall frowned. "Why would this be personal, Gia? Maybe we're just unlucky."

Gia shook her head and walked back to the living room. She picked up the jacket she had taken off one of the masked men when he ran from the police. She showed it to Mrs. Goodall.

"These are the jackets of the Harwood County High Football team," she said as she showed Mrs. Goodall the jacket. "They were given to all new players every year."

"So?"

"There's a stain on the jacket," Gia said and pointed to a small dot on top of the second H on the embroidered emblem of the jacket.

"Gia, this jacket is almost four years old," Mrs. Goodall shook her head. "Of course there's a stain…"

"This isn't a stain. It's _the_ stain," Gia sighed. She put down the jacket and looked up at Mrs. Goodall, "David Foreman was the running back of the football team, and my ex-boyfriend's best friend."

"Cliff, right?"

"The day the football team got their jackets, we were at Cliff's house to celebrate. David got drunk and tried to make a move on me. When I pushed him away, I accidentally spilled my drink on him. It left a stain. He told Cliff. That night, I got a beating for being clumsy and for making David flirt with me. Even if I wanted to, I can't forget this stain."

"Gia…"

"Those bastards don't go to our school, like Troy thought. They went to our school. This is David's jacket, that was David's football team."

"This all has to do with Cliff?" Mrs. Goodall asked.

"Cliff was the quarterback. He was the star of the football team and formerly the student the school was most proud of, and still bragging about at football games even though he graduated a couple of years ago."

"I've missed… a lot," Mrs. Goodall frowned. She walked over and wrapped her arms gently around Gia, "Sweetheart…"

"Don't…" Gia shoved Mrs. Goodall away. "I don't know why they decided now was a good time to come back, but they're doing this to get back at me."

"Gia…"

"I can go!" Gia said. "I have to get Emma back before they hurt her!"

"Gia, the police can…"

"I can do this. Mrs. Goodall, please, you can't possibly understand. I know where they're keeping her. I can get her back."

"No. Absolutely not. They overpowered you once already. Gia, this is over a dozen guys we're talking about."

"Just fourteen…"

"Just? Gia…"

"They're back!" Gia said and pointed behind Mrs. Goodall. She spun around and when she had her back turned, Gia bolted for the door, taking her directions and the jacket with her. Mrs. Goodall, realizing she had been fooled, took off running after Gia.


	10. In For A Long Night

Mrs. Goodall ran as fast as she could after Gia. She ran until her legs were throbbing in pain and then more. She ran until her lungs were about to collapse and she fell over, huffing and puffing, barely able to catch her breath. No one could say she hadn't tried catching up to Gia, but it was a failed effort. Gia was too fast and far younger than the pink Ranger's mother. By the time Mrs. Goodall could catch her breath and start moving again, Gia was long gone, and in the dark of the night it would be impossible to find her.

She felt her heart sinking. If the night wasn't bad enough with her own daughter kidnapped and her best friend in the hospital, she had let Gia run away. Mrs. Moran had done everything for her in terms of raising her daughter, and when Mrs. Goodall could finally start to repay that large debt, she failed. Gia knew where she was going and she was sure to run into trouble when she found the men who had kidnapped Emma and beaten up Jake.

"Dammit," she muttered as she picked up her phone to call the police. She wanted them to work quickly, but with the three most important people in her life now missing or injured, they were going to have to work at hyper speed or they would have to deal with her when she was angry.

No one liked Mrs. Goodall when she got angry.

-Megaforce-

Emma wished she knew where she was or even what was happening. She had been led out of the house and forced into the trunk of a car. The long, bumpy ride had been uncomfortable, but it was better than where she was now.

Instead of the bag, a blindfold covered her eyes. Her arms were bound by rope above her and her feet were tied together with what Emma thought was duct tape based on the noise she heard as they were wrapping it around her ankles.

She didn't have a lot of time. She overheard the men who had taken her say they were going to leave the city in the morning and she would be going with them.

At least, she hoped that was what they meant. They had never really discussed in front of her what would happen to her once they left. She had no idea who they were or what they wanted with her. She had no idea if it was her they wanted.

"Is this her?" for the first time, Emma heard a woman's voice as footsteps approached her.

"Emma Goodall," one of the men said. "She was Gia's best friend. She was the one who put it in Gia's head that Cliff was the bad guy."

"Cliff?" Emma cried out. "Wait, this is because of… how do you know about Cliff? What does this have to do with…?"

Something was forced into her mouth and then more duct tape was placed over her lips, effectively shutting her up.

"She tried several times to break them up," the man continued to speak to the woman. "She even threatened Cliff on a few occasions. She would tell him that if he didn't stop beating Gia, she would call the police."

"But she never did," the woman said and grabbed Emma's face, "Because you had no reason. My boy was a good boy. He'd never do anything to a girl that she didn't deserve! I raised him better than that!"

Emma tried to say something, but all that came through the gag was mumbled and muffled. The woman, who Emma now knew to be Cliff's mother, tapped her cheek.

"You're going to pay for what you did to my boy," she said. Emma let out an angered cry, because it was all she could do with the gag. Then she rubbed her head against her arm and she just barely managed to move the blindfold up. She couldn't see much, especially not in the dark, but she could see Cliff's mother's legs and the dark bruises.

"Sandy!" another voice cried out. "Where the hell did you go?"

"I'm…"

"Why the fuck is my dinner cold?"

"It must have sat for too long, Jim. There's a microwave…"

"You expect me to have to heat up my dinner?"

A dish shattered. Emma winced, but she was grateful it didn't hit her.

"Make me a new one! This time, make sure it stays warm! Geez, I put you in charge of one thing, and you're still a fucking screw up!"

"I'm sorry, Jim. I'll be right…"

"NOW!"

There wasn't another word from Sandy but Emma could hear her footsteps walking away. Emma was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when she heard bigger, louder footsteps coming her way.

"Sir," she recognized the voice of the men, "Emma Goodall. She's…"

"I know who she is. Here's your money. We got all we needed."

"Sir, three thousand? We were promised…"

"Is the boyfriend dead?"

"No, but…"

"Three thousand should be good. Take it and get out."

"But…"

"You're lucky I'm paying you at all. I could report you to the police and let you all rot in prison. Don't think I actually care what happens to you."

"Thank you, sir."

Emma heard him walking away and then grew nervous. She could feel Jim's breath on her face. She knew he was close, and he sounded scary, even for the pink Ranger.

He grabbed her neck and pulled her in closer. Emma was sure her nose was right in his mouth as she could feel the moisture of his breath and the stench was almost bad enough to knock her out.

"I'm going to put you in your place. You think you have any right to tell my son what he should be doing to his girlfriend? If _she_ didn't like it, _she_ could have just left!"

Emma felt a strong blow to the stomach and tried to double over, but the rope held her up straight. She couldn't breathe for a moment, and heard Jim laughing before he walked away. This was going to be bad. She had seen what Cliff could do. His father had to be worse.

-Megaforce-

Gia teleported to the command center and this time she didn't care what Gosei or Tensou had to say.

"Yellow Ranger, I know you're angry, but you need to calm down!"

"Get lost, Tensou. Are you done repairing Robo-Knight?"

"Almost, but that lightning strike was pretty strong. I…"

"Is he functioning?"

"No, not yet."

"You're useless, Tensou!" Gia cried and pushed him out of the way. "I guess I'm going solo."

Tensou rolled after her and grabbed the back of her pants to stop her, "Yellow Ranger, please, you have to work as a team! Whatever you're doing, this is dangerous."

"I will drag you with me," Gia growled to the robot. Tensou looked up at her and he didn't like her scowl. He let go with one hand, but the other was still firmly attached to her pants.

"Gia," Gosei called from the wall, "Tensou is right. You need to calm down and wait for the other Rangers…"

"Jake's in a coma and Emma's kidnapped," Gia growled. She tried to get Tensou to let go with his hand, but it was locked. "My dad's already dead, and these punks just sent my mother to a hospital. I can't afford to wait for the others."

"Gia…"

"I swear to god, Tensou, I will drag you along with me if you don't let go!" Gia screamed. Tensou let go with his other hand and sighed as Gia disappeared. He turned around to Gosei.

"Maybe we should rethink the unstoppable quality," Tensou said with a sigh.

"Contact the others and get Robo-Knight back to full function as quickly as you can."

"This is not going to be a fun night."


	11. Blind Fight

With the directions memorized, Gia made it quickly down to the harbour. She had only seen the note the football player had held up for her for a few seconds, but it was long enough for the words to be imprinted into her brain, especially the last line. Gia knew exactly where to find Emma and the men who had kidnapped her.

Going in with her Ranger suit on would cause too much of a panic, and would be too much trouble to explain later. How would a Ranger have known about Emma's kidnapping if there weren't some connection? Gia didn't care what people thought now, the only thing that mattered was getting Emma home safely and putting the bastards in their place, but she did think about what would happen after.

That didn't mean she wasn't prepared. She found the abandoned warehouse in almost no time and spotted a car parked around the back. She knew very little about engines, but figured if she messed around with one long enough, and removed enough of its parts, it wouldn't work. She did exactly that, and tossed the pieces into the ocean. Emma would yell at her for it if she ever found out, but she'd rather be stuck in the middle of one of Emma's lectures than in the middle of Emma's funeral.

With the car unable to drive, Gia knew she had cut out one of the team's escapes. Now she just needed to worry about taking them all down. About fourteen of them had broken into her home to take Emma. She counted on having to take down fourteen of them to rescue her best friend.

There was an old sliding door at the back of the warehouse that had been left open just wide enough for Gia to slip inside without making a noise. She did so and then looked up to the ceiling. It was high, and there were beams she could walk on that would allow her to get an aerial view of the site and count the number of people she would have to take down. She looked around for a ladder or something that would help her up.

"Perfect," she smiled, seeing one was leaning against the wall and went just high enough for Gia to reach a beam. It didn't look to be the sturdiest ladder, but Gia told herself to be careful and started to climb up. When she reached the beam, she sat on it and looked around.

The warehouse was mostly open space. There were a few walls, but none of them reached the ceiling. In fact, most of them were only about a story high, which meant Gia could see over them. So far, from what she could see of the warehouse, it was empty. She got to her feet and balanced herself on the beam. Then, very carefully, she walked forward to the next room.

This room was about as big as the last, and Gia hit the jackpot. She saw a woman sitting by a portable stove, cooking up what looked and smelled like a delicious meal. On the other side of the room, around a little corner, Gia saw Emma and a man. He was standing in front of her and at first Gia thought he was just talking to Emma – threatening her. Then she saw him slap her in the face. Her fists clenched tightly.

She had her backpack with her. She always took it with her. It had her morpher tucked away inside and she had learned to always take it with her. She reached into her bag and pulled out the first item she could reach. It was Tigger, the stuffed tiger Jake had given her when she had been in the hospital recovering from the beating Cliff had given her. She loved it dearly, which was why she kept it in her bag at all times. However, she loved Emma a little bit more and so had to sacrifice her beloved tiger. She kissed its head and then threw it at the woman cooking dinner. It fell right into the pot of stew she had been making. Gia hid as much as she could in the shadows on the beam as the woman let out a cry and the man stopped his beating on Emma to see what was going on.

"It just fell from out of nowhere," the woman announced as she pulled out the tiger. The man ripped it from her hands aggressively and he looked up for a moment. He didn't see Gia, or at least, he didn't notice her. He stormed out of the room. Gia figured he assumed the tiger came from over the wall, and he was being warned that someone had found him.

"Jim, wait up!" the woman went after him. Gia knew she didn't have a lot of time. She saw that at the end of her beam, the rope that bound Emma's hands was tied. She hurried over and then started to pull the rope up.

"This is going to hurt," she muttered, "but you'll thank me later."

For once, she had been glad to see a gag. She couldn't tell Emma not to cry out as she lifted her up because it would give her away, but the gag was effective at muffling her cries enough so her captors wouldn't hear them as they tried to search the warehouse for the intruder.

It was a long way up, and Gia's arms were sore. The rope burned at her fingers, and her broken arm was crying out for mercy, but Gia didn't let up until Emma was in reach. She pulled her best friend to the beam.

"Sorry, I know how much that hurts," Gia whispered and was glad to see Emma recognized her voice. "There was no other way to get you out of there."

Emma tried to say something, but it was incomprehensible. Gia removed the blindfold.

"Are you okay?"

Emma nodded her head.

"Good," Gia answered, and then used the length of the rope to start tying Emma to the beam, "Because you're staying here until the coast is clear. Is it just those two left? What about the others?"

Emma glared at Gia and a growl escaped the gag. Gia sighed.

"Sorry, I forgot, yes or no only. Is it just those two left?"

Emma nodded but she looked like she wanted to say more. Gia shook her head. She finished tying Emma to the beam.

"Look, I can take them on, I promise. Then I'll come back up here, we'll call the police and I'll take you home."

Emma growled again. Gia shook her head.

"I'm not letting him hurt you again," she answered Emma and then took out her phone from her bag. "Here, I'll text Jordan, that way, if anything happens to me, someone will be able to find you."

Gia sent off the text message and then put the phone on Emma's chest before running back across the beam to the latter. Emma struggled, but knew she couldn't afford to move around too much. She was high above the ground and helpless if she fell. Also, Gia's knots were tight, and they wouldn't give anytime soon.

That didn't mean Emma didn't want to be freed. She knew Gia was only in for trouble, and worried her best friend would freeze up as soon as she recognized Cliff's parents.

She calmed herself as much as possible. She couldn't see what was happening, but she could hear enough. She wasn't sure how long it took Gia to get back down, but fairly quickly she got the attention of Cliff's parents. They recognized her right away.

"How the hell did you find us?" his father cried out and there was no answer from Gia. No smart ass remark, no threats, nothing. Emma knew Gia was surprised, or even worse, frozen in fear.

"Those incompetent imbeciles!" his father screamed. "Sandy, what the hell were you thinking, letting those morons do all the heavy lifting?"

"Jim, it wasn't me who…"

"So I'm the idiot who hired them? Are you calling me an idiot? Is that what you think of…?"

Cliff's father was cut off, and Emma heard a cry that sounded like Gia's. Now she wasn't sure what was happening. Had Gia attacked? Had Cliff's former team come back? Had Cliff's father surprised Gia? Her questions were unanswered for a long time, as Emma heard grunts, cries, and screams coming from below. She wriggled in the ropes as much as she could and prayed they would give.

"You did it!" Gia suddenly screamed. Emma knew that scream. She knew that voice. Gia was angry and it was clear she wasn't thinking straight. A tear rolled down her cheek and she prayed Jordan was on his way with the rest of the Rangers.

"I did what?" Jim asked.

"You're behind all of this, aren't you? Jake's attack? The break in at my house? Kidnapping Emma?"

"My son is dead because of you!" Jim screamed and Emma heard a loud clang. A tear slipped down her cheek.

"He should have gone a lot sooner!" Gia cried back and Emma heard another loud sound. "He's the only person I've ever wished dead, and I'm glad it happened!"

_Shut up, Gia!_ Emma wanted to say, but the gag prevented her.

"You little bitch…"

"I _suffered_ because of what he did to me," Gia screamed. "He robbed me of everything! He beat me up so badly sometimes I wished I would just die!"

"You should have died."

"He made me feel like I deserved the beating. Like I was no better than the person he turned me into. Like there was no one out there who would ever love me and I was lucky to be with him. Even if it hurt, I was lucky he was always there."

"You were lucky! You were lucky my son let you love him."

"Forced me to love him!" Gia screamed. "I was lucky I got out when I did. I'm grateful every day that he decided to run off to college. Him leaving was the best thing that ever happened to me. Except maybe the day he died."

"You are so far out of line!" Jim shouted and then all Emma heard was a bang, which sounded terrifyingly like a gun. It went off several times.

"You got what you deserved," Sandy's voice said and then Emma heard a shout. It was Troy's voice. He called for her captors to back off and said the police were on their way. Then Emma heard Sandy scream. She didn't hear Jim or Gia and feared the worst.

"Emma!" it was her name and Jordan's voice and she was glad he had come with the boys. She could hear and feel his footsteps on the beam as he came over. He leaned over her so she could see his face, "Are you okay?"

He took the duct tape off and Emma pushed out the rag in her mouth. Then he started to untie her.

"I got Gia's text message. What the hell's been going on?"

"Those are Cliff's parents," Emma sat up as soon as her arms and chest were free from the beam. She looked over but couldn't see clearly what had happened in the fight. She saw Sandy being held on the ground by Troy, but Jim and Gia were hiding behind the wall.

"Cliff's…"

"Evil, twisted parents!" Emma said. She pushed Jordan's hands out of the way as he struggled to untie her legs. Everything below her wrist was either numb or in pain from being bound and then lifted to the beam, but she couldn't think of that.

"Emma, I've got it," Jordan assured her and once he took over again the rope fell away. He grabbed her so she wouldn't jump up and fall, "C'mon, let's get down from here. Tonight's been hectic enough."

"He wanted Jake dead!" Emma cried and buried her face in Jordan's chest. Jordan sat down on the beam, hanging his legs over on either side to steady himself as he held his girlfriend. "He was going to kill me. He did worse to Gia, I know he did."

"Noah's down there looking her over," Jordan assured Emma.

"Why does she have to be such an idiot?"

"You've got to admit, it gets the job done," Jordan sighed. He squeezed Emma tight and then gave her a pat on the back, "C'mon, let's get down from here before we fall to our death."


	12. Why It Happened

Gia tried to sit up, but her head was throbbing. When she looked around, nothing seemed to be still. She could hear sounds, but couldn't make out what they were or where they were coming from. Everything sounded tinny and echoed.

She felt someone touching her, though. At first she pulled away. Jake had gotten hurt, Emma had been kidnapped, and her mother had been sent to the hospital. People wanted to see her hurt. She couldn't trust anyone. But after a moment she realized the hands were gentle and soft. They set her back on the ground gently just moments before everything was black and the noises stopped.

Noah laid Gia on the ground when he felt her body go limp. He had heard the gunshots from just outside the building and thought the worst. When he saw Gia unmoving on the ground he ran over to tend to her, fearing she had been hurt or worse. Troy went to stop the woman who had shot the gun. There was a man on the ground, just a couple of feet away from Gia, but the blood pooling out of his head was a clear sign he was dead. Noah assumed he had been the one to be shot, but knew the danger of guns. Several shots had been fired off and it looked like only one had hit the man.

Fortunately, Noah couldn't see a bullet wound on Gia. She seemed clean. Beat up, but clean. He assumed her lack of consciousness had something to do with the fight that had taken place just before he, Troy, and Jordan had arrived.

"Noah!" he heard Emma calling his name and glanced over his shoulder to see her coming down the ladder. Jordan had gotten the strangest message from Gia telling him Emma was tied to a beam at the top of the building. It seemed Jordan had been able to find her. She had a collection of bruises along her chest, neck, and arms, especially in her wrists, but nothing seemed to slow her down. Noah made room for her just in time as she forced her way next to Gia.

"Gia? Gia, wake up!" Emma grabbed her best friend and hugged her to her chest. She looked to Noah, "What… what happened?"

"Are you okay?" Noah asked her. Emma nodded her head.

"Gia…?"

"She should be fine."

"I heard gunshots…"

Noah pointed to the man's body. Emma gasped. She held Gia tighter. Noah looked to the pink Ranger.

"Do you know who he is? What he wanted?"

"It's Cliff's dad," Emma whispered. She looked down at Gia and then shook her head. She turned back to Noah, "He… he can't be dead. No… Noah, what… what do we do? We can't… It was self-defence, Noah. It has to be!"

"We'll figure out what happened," Noah put his hand on Emma's shoulder as it dawned on him he had no idea who had fired the gun. His only focus had been making sure Gia was okay. It didn't sound like Gia to kill, but now that Noah knew who the captors were, and knowing what they had done to Jake, her mother, and Emma, he wouldn't have been surprised if Gia had taken matters into her own hands.

"Nothing's going to happen to her," he promised Emma and then looked around, "Where's the gun. I'll get my fingerprints…"

"Don't be an idiot, Noah," Troy shook his head as he grabbed Cliff's mother and held her by the arm, "Tell them what you told me."

"I killed him."

"Louder."

"I killed him," Cliff's mother lowered her head and shook it from side to side. "He's done nothing but control me. Everything I do, everything I say. For twenty five years, I let him own me! I'm sick of it."

"You killed him, then?" Emma asked. "You killed your husband?"

"All this," Cliff's mother gestured around the warehouse, "Was to get back at the person responsible for killing Cliff. We knew Gia had the final say, so we were going to kill her last, but we found out it was you who convinced her my son was no good. Jim wanted you dead first, because you started this."

Jordan walked up to Emma and knelt beside her. She had Gia in her arms, and he was sure she wouldn't leave her side to fight an already defeated crook, but he didn't want to risk being wrong.

"Then you were going to kill Gia. It was her word that put him in jail and…"

"Eventually got him killed," Cliff's mother nodded.

"Why go after Jake, then?" Noah asked and he felt his fists tightening.

"It's been a little over a month since Cliff's been dead, and this tramp already has a new boyfriend?" Cliff's mother sneered at Emma and Gia. "No one will ever be better than my baby boy."

"None of this explains why you turned on your husband, though," Jordan pointed out.

Emma nodded her head.

"Mr. Morris abused her. He set the example Cliff followed," she said. "If Cliff had never seen his father treat women so poorly, he never would have done so himself. I never would have tagged him as the bad guy, Gia never would have sent him to jail… he wouldn't have died."

"She's smart," Cliff's mother smirked. And then in one sudden move she knocked Troy off his feet, took back her gun and pointed it at Gia and Emma.

From that moment on, Emma saw everything happen in slow-motion. She hugged Gia tighter and tried to cover her up as much as possible using her own body. Then a weight fell on top of her, hugging her tightly. After that, there was one gunshot, a scream, another gunshot, and another scream.

Then she heard police sirens.

-Megaforce-

When Gia woke up, she recognized the walls and ceiling of the hospital and sighed. She took in a few breaths and could feel some of the bruises on her skin already. She knew the drill. She was in for a couple of weeks of pain.

"Morning, idiot."

She blinked and rolled over. Emma was beside her bed, feet propped up while she watched TV. She had bruises, her wrists were wrapped in bandages, but she seemed okay. Angry, but okay.

"What did I do this time?"

"You nearly got us both killed," Emma shrugged her shoulder, "What's new?"

"What happened?" Gia sat up, "The last thing I remember is…?"

"Cliff's dad beating the shit out of you?" Emma interrupted and shot Gia a knowing look. "Yeah, if the son can put you on your ass, stay clear of the father."

"You were on the beam. I left you there…"

"Jordan and the others showed up," Emma said. "He untied me. You know, they had a gun."

"Jordan and the guys?"

"Cliff's family."

"I remember hearing one," Gia looked down at herself, "I was shot, wasn't I?"

"The first few weren't aimed at you. Mrs. Asshole shot Mr. Asshole. By the way, his blood got on your leather jacket, so I threw it out. I can't say I was sad to do that."

"Cliff's mom shot… her husband?"

"Kids aren't born evil. They're created. Who do you think molded Cliff?"

"His dad? But Cliff…"

"I don't question it. Senior and Junior are both gone, and Mrs. Morris is in jail."

"Wait, Gia frowned, closed her eyes, and rubbed her head, "The first few bullets killed Cliff's dad… so what about the other few?"

"One was aimed at us," Emma said. "By the way, you have Jordan and me to thank for saving your life."

"Thank you, I guess. What about the last bullets?"

"Mom turned up."

"Your mom?"

"She took the gun from Mrs. Morris and shot her in the knee with it. You know, Gia, if it weren't for the fact that you almost died last night, I'd be traumatized right now! What the hell were you thinking?"

"Me?" Gia frowned and sat up, "You're the one who let them take you!"

"One guy had a knife to your throat! The other guy had a gun pointed at your head! What did you think I would do? Let them blow your head off?"

"And what did you think I was going to do? Let them take you?"

"Oh, just make out already," Jordan said as he walked into the room. He rolled his eyes. "You're both idiots, and you're both heroes. Emma, we only found you because Gia was smart enough to memorize the directions Cliff's teammates showed her."

"He showed you directions?" Emma asked. "Idiot?"

"For all of five seconds," Gia shrugged her shoulders. "I guess he doesn't know about my memory."

"Look, either way, if it weren't for Gia, Emma, you'd probably be dead," Jordan said. "And Gia, when Cliff's mom turned the gun on you, Emma's first instinct was to protect you. You're obviously both idiots for each other, so just kiss and make-up and know it'll happen again. Go on, I don't mind."

"You wouldn't," Emma rolled her eyes. Gia chuckled and then smiled at Emma.

"Are you okay?"

"Thanks to you. You?"

"Same, though I'm sure…"

"Giana Moran!"

"I'm in for a world of trouble," Gia whispered and slipped under the sheets as her mother stormed into the room. A worried Mrs. Goodall came in right behind her.

"Vanessa, you heard the doctor. Take it easy. I'll watch the girls, I won't let them out of my sight, I promise."

Mrs. Moran didn't stop. She marched over to Gia's bed and ripped the blankets down. She glared at her daughter. "What the hell? Do you want to get yourself killed?"

"I had everything under control…"

"You call this control?" Mrs. Moran gestured to her bruises. "I'd hate to see what happens when you've got no idea what you're getting yourself into? Why the hell did Claire have to put a bullet in another woman's leg? Just to save your life?"

"I'd had done it regardless," Mrs. Goodall pointed out. "That woman hurt the girls. She pissed me off. You know what I'm like when I'm pissed off."

"And you know what I'm like when I'm pissed off," Mrs. Moran turned to her best friend. Mrs. Goodall nodded her head and pulled her fingers across her lips to indicate she would be silent. Mrs. Moran then turned back to Gia. She sat down on the bed and touched Gia's face gently, "I'd lose my mind if anything happened to you. What the hell were you thinking?"

"They had Emma, mom."

"I know, but that doesn't make this better. Gia, the police…"

"They're too slow, mom. Cliff's parents kidnapped Emma, they hurt you, and Jake… Jake's… I had to do it, mom."

"You need to be smart! How many more times do I need to tell you that?" Mrs. Moran hugged her daughter. "Sweetheart, your heart's in the right place, but you need to get your brain in on these cockamamie plans of yours."

"Cocka…"

"Hare-brained. Absurd. Ridiculous. Half-baked…"

"I know what it means, mom."

"No more of this, Gia. Both you girls," Mrs. Moran turned to Emma. "Claire and I protect you. That's our job. No more taking bullets. No more running into danger. No more doing work meant for the police. Am I understood?"

A cry of protest came from both the girls but Mrs. Moran held up her hands, silencing them both.

"I don't care. From now on, if either of you two put your life in danger for the other, you're both grounded."

Another cry of protest from the girls came, so Mrs. Moran held up her hands again and then massaged her head.

"My word is final! I'm going back to my room for a nap."

She got up and walked out of the room. Mrs. Goodall looked to the girls and shrugged her shoulders before following Mrs. Moran out. Emma and Gia looked to each other in confusion. Jordan laughed.

"Your family is messed up.

"Shut up," the girls muttered. Emma then rolled her eyes and turned to Gia, "You should probably nap too. The doctors said you pushed yourself too hard last night."

Gia shook her head, "You're okay. Mom's okay. I want to see Jake."

"Nap first, Gia."

"Do you know how he's doing? Was there any…"

"Go to sleep, Gia."

"I just…"

"Sleep. Then I'll take you to see him," Emma promised. Gia sighed but leaned into her pillow and pulled the blankets up. Emma gave her a reassuring smile before she left the room. Jordan followed her. Before he could say anything to his girlfriend, Noah and Troy walked up.

"How is she?" Noah asked.

"She's fine. Mind keeping an eye on her, though?" Emma asked. "She wants to see Jake. I told her she needs to rest."

Troy and Noah nodded their heads before walking into the room. Emma started to make her way down the hallway. Jordan jogged to keep up. He grabbed her arm.

"Emma…"

"Hopefully she'll nap long enough. The doctors did say only time will tell if this is permanent."

"Yeah, but Emma…"

"We're not going to stop her finding out. I'm just buying him a little more time to… come back."

Jordan took Emma in his arms, "If anyone can pull it off, it's Jake."


	13. Not The Same

Gia couldn't get to sleep. She knew she was in the same hospital as Jake. He had always been by her side when she was hurt, even with his fear of hospitals. She felt terrible not doing the same for him. After a while of trying to fall asleep she gave up and rolled over. She looked to Noah.

"How is he?"

"Just… get some sleep, Gia," Noah answered as he looked up briefly from his laptop.

"Noah, please. I know you know."

"He's awake," Noah said and when he saw a hopeful look in Gia's eyes he quickly continued, "It's still not good, though. Tensou says there may be something he can do for him once Jake gets out of the hospital, but… I mean…"

"It's a head injury, Gia," Troy said with a little shrug of his shoulders. "There's really no telling what could happen still. He is awake, though, and you should be asleep."

"I can't sleep. Please, guys, I just want to…"

"Gia, that's not a good idea."

"I don't care," Gia sat up and pushed away the blankets. She tried to get out of bed but Troy came over and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Gia…"

"Troy."

"I had nothing to do with this," Troy said. He took her arm and steadied her as she stood up. He then looked over to Noah, who was staring at him in shock and horror.

"You heard Emma, Troy."

"You know Gia," Troy countered and shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, it's not like she'll never find out."

"Find out what?"

"Just, come with me," Troy said.

Noah watched them leave before he decided to go with them. He hurried down the halls and avoided bumping into nurses and doctors. He caught up to them when they reached Jake's room.

Troy sighed as he looked at Gia, "I just want to remind you that's his second concussion, so you can't expect… great things."

"But he's awake?"

"Yeah…" Troy knocked on the door and then opened it. Mr. Holling, who sat by Jake's bedside, looked over quickly and waved all three teens inside. He got up, clearing the seat for Gia.

"He is awake," Mr. Holling explained, "but he'll never be the same again."

"He…" Gia looked down at her boyfriend and saw there was a blank look in his eyes. He was awake. She could see he knew where he was and he knew there were people with him, but there was nothing more than that. When she called his name or touched his cheek, she got no response.

"We're looking into treatment options," Mr. Holling said. "There is a chance he'll improve over time, but the damage is done. There's no going back."

"Can we have a minute?" Noah asked. Mr. Holling nodded his head and walked out to leave the teens to talk to his son.

Troy put his hand on Gia's shoulder and gave her a little squeeze, "Just remember, Tensou says he might be able to help. I don't want to get your hopes up, but there's more we can do than whatever the doctors suggest."

"Yeah, I mean, Gosei created Robo-Knight, so surely Tensou can come up with something," Noah nodded his head. "It might not get him back to normal, but it sure can get him close."

"Close? Close to what?" Gia asked. "Close to who Jake was before? Or close to Robo-Knight?"

"I… well…"

"Jake was alive," Gia growled to Noah. "You knew him. No one was more alive than Jake. Now that's gone! Either he's stuck in this state forever, which basically means he's as good as... this, or I have to enjoy spending time with a Robo-Knight 2.0?"

"I'm sure Tensou will…"

"NO!" Gia shouted and stomped over to the door, "No! That's not fair! It shouldn't have happened to him!"

"Gia, calm down," Troy came over and touched her arm, "Jake's still in there. Tensou can find a way to bring him out. It might not be perfect, but…"

"Don't touch me," Gia pulled away from Troy. She pointed to Jake's bed, "This isn't fair!"

"Gia…"

"No!" Gia shoved Troy as hard as she could and watched him fall. She looked back to Jake again before storming out of the room. Troy picked himself up and he was about to run after her when he heard Noah call him back.

"Stay with Jake. I'll go after her."

"Noah…"

"Jake's my best friend. I know how she feels," Noah said. "I think I can talk to her."

Troy sighed. He wasn't sure what to do at this point, but he decided to let Noah go. If the blue Ranger felt confident he could calm Gia down, he wouldn't stand in his way. He took a seat beside Jake in the chair and let out a sigh.

"I know you're in there, Jake, and I know you don't give up. You can beat this. You have to."

Outside, Noah could follow Gia's trail by looking out for disgruntled nurses and hospital staff. When he finally found her, she was back in her room and leaning against the window, looking out. She heard Noah walking in and sighed.

"I don't want to talk."

"I know Jake," Noah said as he walked over to Gia and stood beside her. "His fight is far from over. I'm scared too, but it's going to be okay."

"How is that okay? You saw him, Noah. He's… gone."

"He's not gone. He's just… resting."

"I had a good guy, Noah. I knew it, and I knew it was too good to be true. I don't…"

"You're not going to deserve him if you're just going to give up because of this," Noah said. "Gia, Jake took care of you even when things got bad. Face it; you're lucky he stuck around as long as he did. Most guys wouldn't have been able to handle all this shit you put him through."

"Exactly, Noah," Gia sighed. "Jake's the most amazing person I've ever met. And just because he will put up with me and all my problems, that doesn't mean he should have to. Look where it brought him? Those assholes only attacked him because…"

"You love him."

Gia sighed again and brushed her fingers through her hair, "What do I do?"

"Well, Jake hasn't been chasing after you since freshman year just for a couple of pity dates and bragging rights. You know that."

"Yeah, but I doubt he thought winning me would lead to this. I'll bet if he had known…"

"He wouldn't have gone to the soccer fields that day," Noah said, "but he still would have let himself fall in love with you."

"You're just…"

"Gia, he loves you too. Maybe you don't get it, but it's true."

"Has he told you?"

"Do you need to tell Emma? Doesn't she always somehow know?"

Gia sighed and then nodded her head. Noah gently took her into his arms and hugged her.

"If you really love him, you'll try everything first. Then we'll see what happens. He was always there for you. Now's your chance to show him he means the same to you. Can you do that? He needs you to do that."

"Oh, and what are you, chopped liver?" Gia asked, turning to Noah.

"I'll be there too. But it'll mean a lot more to him if he knows he's got you."

"He's got me," Gia nodded her head and showed Noah a little smile, "I still have no idea how he did it, but he's got me. I'll be there for him, Noah. I promise."


End file.
